FLORIDA — Approximately 80 of Florida’s state parks will join the list of places that can reopen starting Monday.
Gov. Ron DeSantis made the announcement Friday in Jacksonville, calling the move “good for the people of Florida."
He joined Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry at Little Talbot Island State Park, which is not included in the list of parks opening Monday.
Outdoor enthusiasts like Jody Hetchka, who owns Kayak Amelia, say they are thrilled.
“If you turned the cameras around, you would’ve seen me doing a happy dance,” said Hetchka. “We’ve been shut down since the middle of March."
Her business has lost 45% of its revenue, especially considering that the bulk of her business happens during the months of March, April and May.
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The parks will reopen exactly six weeks after they shut down.
“Being outdoors in open air is more low risk and today, we take a step that I think is good for the people of Florida,” DeSantis said.
If you’re planning on hitting the trails Monday, keep in mind that you’ll be asked to limit group sizes to 10 people or fewer and stay at least 6 feet apart.
While some beach access points will open, some facilities and amenities will be limited. Sunbathing, chairs, canopies or coolers are still not allowed in beach areas at this time.
Available parks will open from 8 a.m. to sunset.
In making his decision, DeSantis cited a Department of Homeland Security study that looked at how COVID-19 behaves in sunlight, heat and humidity.
“The DHS study said that sunlight rapidly killed the virus and aerosols, and it said that outdoor daytime environments are lower-risk transmission of the virus than indoor environments,” he said.
The study also looked at how COVID-19 behaves on surfaces and in the air -- the more sunlight the shorter the half-life.
It’s important to note, however, that research on this topic is still underway.
“It doesn’t mean you can’t transmit it. Obviously, if you pack in 1,000 people and they were right next to each other and they cough on each other, that’s going to be risky,” DeSantis said.
Hetchka said that over the weekend, she’ll be working on a plan to get back to work.
That includes “looking at the OSHA and the CDC guidelines for how to keep our employees and guests safe and cleaning surfaces and wearing masks,” she said.
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